Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-08-03
SIXTY SKELETONS.

Ghastly Reminders of Ante-B ellum Timss.
A letter from CoakYille, Tenn, to the
Nashville American says: Before the
war, for twenty-five years, rosd within
three miles OF this place, leading from
Louisville, Ky, through the st2te down
into Georgia aud South CarOi1s, was
known as The Kentucky stock ToaG, and
Was ct tina. time The principal highway
for traders between the twO sections.
Planters, slave dealers aad stoChmen
would drive their negroes. mules, etc,
down to the southern market, return M
with the money from their sales. SdCh
parties were frequently missing very
mysteTiously, no trace u than ever Oeicg
found.
The road through this section ran
through q wild, thlnly-settled mountain
country, the stopping places or dwellings,
where traveller could get shelter fire.
quently being thirty miles apart, and, as
recent Investigations show, were Kept by
robbers ana murdeTers of the worst de-
scIiptiOn, who for years followed tljs
business OF wholesale robbery aDG mur-
der.
About thirty years aGo man who is
now q CiL;Z5n Of this pi4Ce found skela-
ton 81 the entrance to j cave, but no
further investigation was ever made IN
til yesterday, and it YVES LEFT for i straG-
ger to make discoveries thai cast IN the
shade ell stories Of like description where
the writer f5ds his terrible characters
only in his own brain. Yesterday party
was organized under the leadership OF
Mr.. Fred kjncGid 20 explore TIE cave
where the skeleton was found thirty wears
ago.
Back on the moustsin side, about one
hall mile from one Of me notorious
stopping places described, the entrance IL
the Csve was f0ur&. \ mole, something
! like well,goicg strS GIT down thiTty-toul
/ feet, was first p2ssI through, end then
/ the cave opens into large Cayerns with G
| downward course uudGr the mountain. a
the bottom of the shaft the party iou2C
/ human bones, 2Ed, with little digging
in the debris thst mad accumulated CT TIL:
/ point, Unearthad GGOut sixty skeletons o
men who have been murdered and thrown
down the hole Some skulls were founC
with bullet holes through them, other,
beng mashed With 81 az or iHstru
mGlt Of that kind. Old citizens now IiY
ITO in this vicinity say that tie keeper
Of these dens would keep tracE Of t5e
travellers When they passed through VT
took, and on their return .hey would b.
almost certain 70 disappear. the robbGr
Were even so bold thai they would tax
the clothing, saddles and horses Of thei
victims sad use them publicly. Tne.
would get man drunk, if possible, an
IS whisky was plenty and the custom g
drinking common it was no hard matte
80 90; then, in their drunken stupor, kill
rob and throw their bodies IA this noe
Without doubt many men, Is thi
fearful disclosure proves, never roturue'
20 their homes, and anxious friend
waited and watc4ed and wondered VIII,
they returned not. Not far from aere, B.
the side OF this road still stands q house
the walls Of one room ere stained an,
spatterad with human blood. A5Og
here il The mountains about twenty miles
still { worse place il possible, than this
Another cave il here and would, if inves
tjeated, repeat the sickeniES story Of Yes
terdaY's investigations. The people her
ere much excited over this discover, !
many descendants Of tois rCb5iUg gan
are still living ell through this country
But "tead men tell no tales" and Il
? history Of these fearful crimes win uoye
be known.